Stockwinners Market Radar for May 24, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:53 EDT Edgewell shave brand Schick launches subscription service - Edgewell Personal Care (EPC) announced the launch of the company's new direct-to-consumer website, SchickHydro.com. "SchickHydro.com will provide consumers with increased choice, value, innovation and now added convenience to improve their overall shaving experience. Today's announcement also extends consumer choice in Men's Systems to an entirely new level, with the launch of Schick Hydro Connect -- the next evolution in the brand's razor franchise designed to fit Gillette Fusion and Mach3 handles," the company said. SchickHydro.com includes a "shave plan" subscription service, allowing customers to receive automatic refill deliveries. Schick competes with Procter & Gamble's (PG) Gillette, which also recently launched a subscription service.

19:17 EDT Petrobras notified of dismissal of popular interest suit in shallow water case - Petrobras reports that it was formally notified of the decision by the 3rd Federal District Court of Sergipe to dismiss without prejudice the popular interest suit to suspend the process of transfer of oil and natural gas exploration, development, and production rights for a set of shallow water fields, located in the states of Ceara and Sergipe. The dismissal results from a petition filed by Petrobras based on the decision issued by the Federal Court of Accounts, which authorizes the advance of the company's divestment program, ordering the application of a revised methodology to divestment projects, per material fact disclosed on 3/15/2017.

19:04 EDT PTC Therapeutics director Svoronos acquires 25,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, PTC Therapeutics director Dawn Svoronos disclosed the purchased of 25,000 common shares at a price of $13.4892. The date of the transaction was May 23, 2017.

19:02 EDT Tesoro says Western Rifing deal waiting period has terminated - Tesoro Corporation announced that the waiting period applicable to its proposed acquisition of Western Refining pursuant to the Hart Scott Rodino Act has terminated. This satisfies one of the final conditions to the closing of the pending acquisition. Tesoro therefore expects the closing of the acquisition to occur on June 1, 2017, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the remaining customary conditions to closing.

18:48 EDT Sabre sees approximately $80M-$100M charge associated with Air Berlin contract - On May 24, Sabre concluded that, as required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, it expects to record a charge of approximately $80M-$100M, before taxes, for impairment of Sabre's previously capitalized net costs and other assets, net of expected estimated recoverable fees and deferred revenue, associated with its contract with Air Berlin Plc & Co Luftverkehrs KG. This impairment charge represents a non-cash expense in the second quarter of 2017. Sabre has notified Air Berlin that, given the substantial amount of uncertainty of reaching an agreement regarding the implementation of SaaS services pursuant to the contract, Sabre is commencing a formal resolution process, resulting in the charge. The contract provides for recoverability of at least a portion of capitalized net costs, which has been considered in the impairment assessment. Further, Sabre believes that its rights under the contract would entitle it to a termination fee that is substantially higher than the amount of this impairment charge. The impairment charge will result in a material impact on Sabre's financial results, and related matters are expected to further adversely impact Sabre's future results of operations and cash flow.

18:32 EDT Quidel says PMDA of Japan approves Sofia Influenza A+B Assay - Quidel announced it has received approval from Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency for Quidel's Sofia Influenza A+B Fluorescent Immunoassay to be used with the Sofia Fluorescent Immunoassay Analyzer. Sofia is the brand name for Quidel's instrumented immunoassay system.

18:12 EDT S&P announces changes to S&P 400, 500, 600 indices - S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following changes to the S&P MidCap 400, S&P SmallCap 600, and S&P 500 indices: IHS Markit (INFO) will replace TEGNA (TGNA) in the S&P 500, TEGNA and Cars.com (CARS) will replace J.C. Penney (JCP) and Time Inc. (TIME) respectively in the S&P MidCap 400, and J.C. Penney and Time Inc. will replace Tuesday Morning (TUES) and Hornbeck Offshore Services (HOS) respectively in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the open on Friday, June 2. TEGNA is spinning off Cars.com in a transaction expected to be completed prior to the open on Thursday, June 1, pending final conditions. Post the spin-off transaction, TEGNA's market capitalization will be more representative of the mid-cap market space. J.C. Penney and TIME are ranked near the bottom of the S&P MidCap 400 and no longer representative of the mid-cap market space. Tuesday Morning and Hornbeck Offshore Services are ranked near the bottom of the S&P SmallCap 600 and no longer representative of the small-cap market space. Independence Realty Trust (IRT) will replace Ultratech (UTEK) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the open on Tuesday, May 30. S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Veeco Instruments (VECO) is acquiring Ultratech in a deal expected to be completed on or about that date pending final conditions. S&P 500 constituent Yahoo! (YHOO) is expected to convert to a publicly traded, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, following the expected sale of its operational business to S&P 100 & 500 constituent Verizon Communications (VZ) in mid-June. Yahoo! will therefore be ineligible for continued inclusion in the S&P 500 following the sale. To take advantage of the expected increased liquidity surrounding the quarterly rebalance, S&P Dow Jones Indices will remove Yahoo! from the S&P 500 effective at the open on Monday, June 19 to coincide with the June 2017 rebalance. A replacement candidate will be announced at a later date with sufficient notice to clients.

17:53 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Guess (GES), up 15.7%... Pure Storage (PSTG), up 13%... Williams-Sonoma (WSM), up 8.9%... PVH Corp. (PVH), up 3.7%... HP Inc. (HPQ), up 2.6%. ALSO HIGHER: Aerie Pharmaceuticals (AERI), up 24.7% after it reported "positive" Roclatan Phase 3 topline efficacy results and said that it expects to submit its Roclatan NDA in the first half of 2018... IHS Markit (INFO), up 5.9% after it was named to join the S&P 500... Radius Health (RDUS), up 2.8% after it reported "positive" top-line results from the ACTIVExtend study... Independence Realty Trust (IRT), up 2.7% after it was named to replace Ultratech (UTEK) in the S&P 600. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: NetApp (NTAP), down 2.5%. ALSO LOWER: Costamare (CMRE), down 9.4% after it filed to sell 12.5M shares of common stock... Bank of the Ozarks (OZRK), down 5% after it filed to sell 6.6M shares of common stock... EVINE Live (EVLV), down 3.3% after it announced a $4.5M registered direct offering of common stock... Sun Communities (SUI), down 1.6% after it filed to sell 3.5M shares of common stock.

17:44 EDT Nanometrics announces retirement plans of CEO Timothy Stultz - Nanometrics announced that its president and CEO, Dr. Timothy Stultz, has notified the company of his plans to retire. The company has retained Spencer Stuart to identify a successor. Dr. Stultz will continue as CEO until his successor is named, assist with a seamless transition, and continue to serve as a director of the company.

17:43 EDT Therapix Biosciences CEO Haber to step down - Therapix Biosciences announced that following the mutual decision of the company's board of directors and Dr. Elran Haber, the company's Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Haber will step down from his position as Chief Executive Officer to pursue other professional opportunities. The company's board of directors is undertaking a search to identify a permanent, U.S. based Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Haber will continue to serve in his position while the search for a new Chief Executive Officer takes place.

17:40 EDT Align Technology issued two patents for SmartTrack aligner material - Align Technology has been issued two patents by the USPTO for SmartTrack aligner material, used exclusively for Invisalign aligner treatment. Launched commercially in 2013, Align's proprietary SmartTrack material is a multi-layer polymer that delivers gentle, constant force to improve control of tooth movements with Invisalign clear aligners.

17:36 EDT Spark Energy authorizes share buyback of up to $50M of Class A common stock - Spark Energy announced that its board of directors has authorized a share buyback program of up to $50M of Spark Class A common stock. The company intends to fund the program through available cash balances and its Subordinated Credit Facility, as well as future operating cash flows.

17:33 EDT Time Inc. to replace Hornbeck Offshore in S&P 600 at open on June 2

17:31 EDT Cars.com to replace Time Inc. in S&P 400 at open on June 2

17:27 EDT S&P Dow Jones Indices to remove Yahoo from S&P 500 at open on June 19 - S&P 500 constituent Yahoo! (YHOO) is expected to convert to a publicly traded, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, following the expected sale of its operational business to S&P 100 & 500 constituent Verizon Communications (VZ) in mid-June. Yahoo! will therefore be ineligible for continued inclusion in the S&P 500 following the sale. To take advantage of the expected increased liquidity surrounding the quarterly rebalance, S&P Dow Jones Indices will remove Yahoo! from the S&P 500 effective at the open on Monday, June 19 to coincide with the June 2017 rebalance. A replacement candidate will be announced at a later date with sufficient notice to clients.

17:23 EDT IHS Markit to replace Tegna in S&P 500 at open on June 2 - TEGNA (TGNA) is spinning off Cars.com in a transaction expected to be completed prior to the open on Thursday, June 1, pending final conditions.

17:05 EDT GW Pharmaceuticals announces publication of groundbreaking study of Epidiolex - GW Pharmaceuticals, along with its U.S. subsidiary Greenwich Biosciences, announced that The New England Journal of Medicine has published results from a Phase 3 study of Epidiolex in children with Dravet syndrome. Epidiolex, GW's lead product candidate and the potential first in a new category of anti-epileptic drugs, is a liquid formulation of purified, plant-derived cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, which is being studied for the treatment of a number of rare, severe pediatric-onset epilepsy disorders. In the study, Epidiolex significantly reduced monthly convulsive seizure frequency compared to placebo in highly treatment-resistant children when added to existing treatment. Treatment with Epidiolex was generally well tolerated, with a safety profile consistent with prior open label experience. There are currently no treatments approved by the U.S. FDA for Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy associated with a high mortality rate and significant developmental delays. Results from this study represent the only well-controlled clinical evaluation of a cannabinoid medication for this devastating and drug-resistant condition. The New Drug Application for Epidiolex remains on track for submission to the FDA in the middle of 2017.

17:02 EDT Invacare reducing North American workforce by approximately 50 - Invacare is reducing its workforce by approximately 50 associates in North America. These changes are expected to generate an incremental $2.7M in annualized pre-tax savings in addition to the company's previously announced restructuring savings of approximately $9.2M from actions taken since October 2016. The company expects to incur restructuring charges of approximately $0.7M on a pre-tax basis that will be expensed in Q2. Customary transition assistance will be provided to affected employees as a result of this transition.

16:54 EDT HP Inc. backs FY17 free cash flow view $2.3B-$2.6B - Guidance taken from Q2 earnings conference call presentation slides. Shares of HP Inc. are up 4.68% in after hours trading.

16:52 EDT Salesforce announces strategic agreement with Dell Technologies - Salesforce (CRM) announced a strategic technology agreement. Extending the long-standing relationship between the two companies, Dell Technologies (DVMT) will expand the use of Salesforce's market-leading sales, service, and marketing applications and CRM platform, which have been made smarter by Einstein artificial intelligence, to thousands of Dell Technologies employees worldwide, empowering them to deliver even greater customer success. Salesforce will provide Dell Technologies a flexible platform to bring together sales, service, marketing and more, enabling a more unified customer experience. Dell Technologies customer contact centers worldwide will now have access to Service Cloud Einstein, integrating with the existing Sales Cloud footprint. In addition, the companies will use Dell Boomi's leading cloud-native connection platform to rapidly move large volumes of data between the businesses.

16:47 EDT Emerson says April trailing orders up 2% - Emerson disclosed trailing three-month average order numbers for February, March, and April in a regulatory filing Wednesday morning, showing total orders up 0%-5% for all three months. On April, Emerson commented: "Emerson trailing three-month orders increased 2%. Underlying orders increased 6% excluding unfavorable currency translation of 4%. Underlying growth was up mid-single digits in both the Automation Solutions and Commercial & Residential Solutions platforms."

16:38 EDT Gabelli & Co. reports 18.44% stake in Tredegar

16:31 EDT Bunge raises quarterly dividend to 46c from 42c per share - The new dividend is payable on September 5 to shareholders of record on August 22.

16:29 EDT Thomson Reuters announces annual renewal of normal course issuer bid - Thomson Reuters has received approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange for the annual renewal of its normal course issuer bid. Under the renewed NCIB, up to 36 million common shares representing approximately 5% of the company's total outstanding shares may be repurchased between May 30, 2017 and May 29, 2018. For its current NCIB that expires on May 29, Thomson Reuters previously received approval to repurchase up to 37.5 million common shares. Of this amount, Thomson Reuters has repurchased approximately 35.3 million common shares through May 15 for a total cost of approximately $1.5B. In February, Thomson Reuters announced plans to repurchase up to an additional $1.0B of its common shares. Through May 15, the company has repurchased approximately $406M of shares under this program.

16:24 EDT Williams-Sonoma CEO: Continued to realize benefits from supply chain efforts - "In the first quarter, we saw strong sequential improvement in the Pottery Barn brand, demonstrating the effectiveness of the brand initiatives that we are implementing. West Elm, our newer businesses (Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham), and our company-owned global operations delivered another quarter of double-digit growth, and Williams Sonoma started the year off strongly. We also continued to realize positive results from our supply chain initiatives, as we drive continuous improvements across the organization to deliver increased efficiencies and a superior customer experience... We believe that our iconic multi-aesthetic brands and profitable multi-channel model, together with our lifestyle merchandising approach and high-touch service model, create a sustainable competitive advantage. As we continue to make strong progress against our key strategic initiatives, we believe we are well positioned to deliver on both our near and longer-term goals," said Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber.

16:21 EDT Southwest Georgia Financial chairman Michael McLean retires - Southwest Georgia Financial announced that chairman Michael J. McLean retired from the board and that current directors Roy H. Reeves and Cecil H. Barber were elected chairman and vice chairman, respectively. With the retirement, the board of directors is now comprised of eight directors, six of whom have been determined to be independent directors. "Michael has served as our Chairman since 2006 and during that time he provided critical leadership to the Board as the Company embarked on a number of strategic priorities and actions that allowed us to achieve record asset size and earnings per share in 2016. As a result of Michael's counsel and support, we are positioned for even greater success in the future," commented DeWitt Drew, President and CEO. "On behalf of the Board, the Company, and the entire Southwest Georgia Bank team, we thank Michael for his dedicated service and wish him well in his retirement."

16:20 EDT Williams-Sonoma reports Q1 Pottery Barn comparable revenue growth (1.4%) - Reports Williams Sonoma comparable revenue growth 3.2%. Reports West Elm comparable revenue growth 6%. Reports Pottery Barn Kids comparable revenue growth (5.7%). Reports PBteen comparable revenue growth (14.3%). Reports total comparable revenue growth 0.1%.

16:19 EDT CSRA reports backlog of $15.2B at Q4-end - The company's backlog of signed business orders at the end of fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 was $15.2B, of which $2.4B was funded.

16:18 EDT Interpace Diagnostics launches enhancement to thyroid testing services - Interpace Diagnostics is launching a new biomarker to be ordered along with its current molecular thyroid testing options. The TERT marker is a strong molecular predictor of the aggressiveness of thyroid cancer and adds additional insights in to a patients' molecular profile. Currently, the ThyGenX mutation panel includes the markers that are predictive of thyroid cancer from cytologically indeterminate thyroid nodules. By adding TERT, the panel aims to not only continue to be a strong positive predictor of thyroid cancer, but also provide evidence that a positive result indicates the cancer is likely to be more aggressive in nature. Published data suggests that TERT mutations can extend the life span of the tumor cell and allow time for other mutations to develop. Physicians will be able to order TERT as part of the ThyGenX mutation panel or on an individual basis. The company first launched ThyGenX in October, 2014, ThyraMIR in April, 2015, and both products in the State of NY in September, 2016.

16:17 EDT Oil-Dri Corporation of America to increase the price of cat litter - Oil-Dri Corporation of America announced that it will be implementing price increases on its private label heavy scoopable and non-scooping cat litters, effective August 1. The price increases are due to current cost increases and pricing trends on key components used in mining, manufacturing, shipping and include costs related to packaging, fuel and equipment.

16:15 EDT Jazz Pharmaceuticals to present Phase 3 data on sleep disorder candidate JZP-110 - Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced that twelve abstracts supporting the company's sleep medicine portfolio, including data on its investigational compound JZP-110, data on the investigational use of sodium oxybate for the treatment of cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in pediatric patients with narcolepsy, and data from the Nexus narcolepsy patient registry, will be presented at the 31st Associated Professional Sleep Societies Annual SLEEP Meeting June 3-7 in Boston Key presentations include data from the Treatment of OSA and Narcolepsy Excessive Sleepiness Phase 3 program for JZP-110, an investigational wake-promoting agent in development for the treatment of excessive sleepiness in adult patients with narcolepsy or OSA, Phase 2/3 data from a clinical study evaluating sodium oxybate in pediatric patients aged 7-17, and new data from the Jazz-sponsored Nexus Narcolepsy Registry, the first narcolepsy-specific, web-based registry of patient-reported data. In 2014, Jazz Pharmaceuticals acquired a world-wide license - except in certain countries in Asia - to develop and commercialize JZP-110 from SK Biopharmaceuticals, which discovered the compound.

16:14 EDT inTEST acquires Ambrell Corporation - inTEST Corporation announced that it has acquired all of the outstanding stock of Ambrell Corporation. Ambrell, a privately-held company based in Scottsville, New York, is a provider of precision induction heating systems under 500 KW power and is known for its application and engineering experience. The purchase price for Ambrell was $22M in cash paid at closing, which is subject to post-closing working capital adjustment. Additional consideration may be paid based upon a multiple of adjusted EBITDA for 2017 and 2018, not to exceed $18M. The acquisition closed on May 24, is expected to contribute $20M-$25M in net revenues to inTEST's consolidated operations for calendar year 2018 and to be accretive beginning in Q3. Upon the closing of the transaction, Ambrell became a wholly owned subsidiary of inTEST.

16:08 EDT Net 1 UEPS CEO Serge Belamant to retire at month end - Net 1 UEPS Technologies announced that Serge Belamant will retire as CEO and a director of the company at the end of this month and Herman Kotze, currently the company's CFO, has been appointed as CEO effective on June 1. Belamant, who is the founder of Net1, was due to retire in 2018. However to facilitate changes to the company's operating and management structures and also noting the views expressed by certain of the company's shareholders, the board and Belamant agreed on an earlier retirement date of May 31. Belamant has agreed to provide consulting services to the Company for a two-year period after his retirement. This will allow the company to retain the benefit of Belamant's technical expertise and many years of experience in the industry, particularly for assistance in the development of Net1's international operations.

16:08 EDT Salesforce announces strategic agreement with Dell Technologies - Salesforce announced a strategic technology agreement. Extending the long-standing relationship between the two companies, Dell Technologies will expand the use of Salesforce's market-leading sales, service, and marketing applications and CRM platform, which have been made smarter by Einstein artificial intelligence, to thousands of Dell Technologies employees worldwide, empowering them to deliver even greater customer success. Salesforce will provide Dell Technologies a flexible platform to bring together sales, service, marketing and more, enabling a more unified customer experience. Dell Technologies customer contact centers worldwide will now have access to Service Cloud Einstein, integrating with the existing Sales Cloud footprint. In addition, the companies will use Dell Boomi's leading cloud-native connection platform to rapidly move large volumes of data between the businesses.

16:06 EDT NetApp says has 'regained momentum' - "Our continued focus and disciplined execution yielded yet another quarter of solid results. We have regained momentum, returning the company to revenue growth and delivering against all of our fiscal year 2017 commitments. By innovating to redefine traditional markets and to bring enterprise-grade technology to emerging areas of the market, we are gaining market share, expanding our addressable market, and creating new opportunities for NetApp," said CEO George Kurian.

16:05 EDT Radius Health reports positive top-line results from ACTIVExtend study - Radius Health announced positive top-line results from the completed 24 month ACTIVExtend trial, which met all of its primary and secondary endpoints. In ACTIVExtend, patients who had completed 18 months of TYMLOS injections or placebo in the ACTIVE Phase 3 trial were transitioned to receive 24 additional months of open-label alendronate. Radius plans to submit an sNDA for the ACTIVExtend study and present the study data at future conferences.

16:03 EDT Samsung announces foundry process roadmap - Samsung Electronics announced a "comprehensive foundry process technology roadmap" to help customers design and manufacture faster, more power efficient chips. "Samsung is set to lead the industry with 8nm, 7nm, 6nm, 5nm, 4nm and 18nm FD-SOI in its newest process technology roadmap... To successfully compete in today's fast-paced business environment, our customers need a foundry partner with a comprehensive roadmap at the advanced process nodes to achieve their business goals and objectives," the company remarked. Samsung's newest foundry process technologies and solutions introduced at the annual Samsung Foundry Forum include: 8LPP, or 8nm Low Power Plus, 7LPP, 6LPP, 5LPP, 4LPP, and FD-SOI, or Fully Depleted Silicon on Insulator.

15:57 EDT Syngenta trading resumes

15:39 EDT UniFirst announces passing of CEO Ronald Croatti - UniFirst announced with great sadness the passing of Ronald Croatti, the company's chairman, president, and CEO, as a result of complications associated with pneumonia. UniFirst's Board of Directors will promptly begin the process to select a new CEO and will consider the company's interim management arrangements.

15:18 EDT Disney's new 'Pirates' film draws middling score in early reviews - Disney's upcoming "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," slated to be released this Friday, appears to be missing the mark with critics. The fifth installment in the series has managed just a 34% rating on Rotten Tomatoes across 57 reviews, with Associated Press writer Mark Kennedy declaring that "you'll wish Disney would just declare the franchise dead and tell no more tales." Reference Link

15:01 EDT Cannell Capital says urges 'no' vote on TheStreet proxy - Cannell Capital announced its voting intentions for the annual general meeting of TheStreet, slated for May 31. Cannell pledged to vote withhold on the elections of Sarah Fay and Steve Zacharias; vote for the election of Betsy Morgan, the declassification of the board, the advisory vote to eliminate supermajority voting; and vote against approval of executive compensation.

14:50 EDT First Eagle reports 8.11% passive stake in Identiv

14:20 EDT Praxair confirms agreement in principle for combination with Linde - Praxair (PX) confirmed that it has reached agreement in principle on the terms and conditions of a business combination agreement with Linde AG (LNEGY) pursuant to which the companies would combine their businesses in a merger of equals under a new holding company through an all-stock transaction, consistent with the transaction structure that the companies announced on December 20, 2016. The agreement is subject to approval by the board of directors of Praxair and the executive board and supervisory board of Linde. If such approvals are obtained and the agreement is executed, the transaction will be subject to additional conditions that will be disclosed in the regulatory filings that would be made with the SEC and the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority.

13:56 EDT Facebook updates Trending page to show additional news sources - Facebook announced a redesigned Trending results page, which is the page users see when clicking on a Trending topic to learn more about it. "You've always been able to click on a topic to see related posts and stories, but we've redesigned the page to make it easier to discover other publications that are covering the story, as well as what your friends and public figures are saying about it... Now, when you click on a Trending topic, you'll see a carousel with stories from other publications about a given topic that you can swipe through. By making it easier to see what other news outlets are saying about each topic, we hope that people will feel more informed about the news in their region," the company said. The move comes amid intermittent criticism of so-called "filter bubbles" on Facebook and other social media networks. Reference Link

13:50 EDT Puma Biotechnology trading resumes

13:40 EDT Democrats seek info on Trump loans, Russia mirror trading from Deutsche Bank - Democratic lawmakers, including Representative Maxine Waters, sent a letter to Deutsche Bank CEO John Cryan seeking information related to two internal reviews reportedly conducted by the bank: one regarding its 2011 Russian mirror trading scandal and the other regarding its review of the personal accounts of President Donald Trump and his family members held at the bank. "What is troubling is that the Bank to our knowledge has thus far refused to disclose or publicly comment on the results of either of its internal reviews," the letter reads. "As a result, there is no transparency regarding who participated in, or benefited from, the Russian mirror trading scheme that allowed $10B to flow out ofRussia. Likewise, Congress remains in the dark on whether loans Deutsche Bank made to President Trump were guaranteed by the Russian Government, or were in any way connected to Russia. It is critical that you provide this Committee with the information necessary to assess the scope, findings and conclusions of your internal reviews." The letter said that Deutsche Bank's failure to "put adequate anti-money laundering controls in place" particularly to prevent traders from improperly transferring over $10B out of Russia is "concerning." Reference Link

13:34 EDT Microsoft introduces 'Windows 10 China Government Edition' - As part of a media event in Shanghai yesterday, Microsoft (MSFT) announced it has developed Windows 10 China Government Edition for China government customers. Lenovo (LNVGY) will be one of the first OEM partners to preinstall Windows 10 China Government Edition. "Over the last two years, we have earnestly cooperated with the Chinese government on the security review of Windows 10. The Chinese government has the highest standards for security... Three government customers are the first to pilot Windows 10 China Government Edition -- at the national level with China Customs, at the regional level with the City of Shanghai, and the state-owned enterprise with Westone Information Technology," Microsoft noted. Reference Link

13:28 EDT Safety advocate says Tesla workers get injured more than industry rate - Worksafe, which describes itself as a California-based organization dedicated to eliminating all types of workplace hazards, issued an analysis of Tesla injury rates from 2014 to 2017. "Over the past several months, workers at Tesla have become increasingly aware of the potential safety hazards at the company's flagship vehicle plant in Fremont, California. In April 2017, workers first requested copies of the OSHA Form 300, the log of work-related injuries and illnesses that companies are required by law to make available to their employees," the report reads. It concludes that Tesla's total recordable incidence rate, or TRIR, in 2015 was 31% higher than the industry-wide incident rate. Tesla's total injury rate for 2016 was 8.1 injuries per 100 workers, Worksafe says. It adds, "The rate of serious injuries at Tesla's Fremont plant - those that result in days away from work, restricted duty, or job transfer - was approximately double the industry rate for 2015." Tesla shares are up $4.41 to $308.27 in afternoon trading. Reference Link

13:18 EDT Microsoft says 'Xbox Game Pass' service launches June 1 - Microsoft (MSFT) announced that its "Xbox Game Pass" videogame subscription service will launch June 1 with over 100 games for $9.99 per month. The service will launch with a 14-day free trial, and the company noted that "subscriptions will be available for purchase online at xbox.com/game-pass, with a retail offering expected later this year." In late February, research firm Baird argued that the service "further raises the risk profile" for GameStop (GME). Reference Link

13:07 EDT Abercrombie & Fitch trading resumes

13:02 EDT ISS recommends Buffalo Wild Wings holders vote for Marcato's nominees - Marcato Capital, an investment manager which manages funds that beneficially own approximately 9.9% of the outstanding common shares of Buffalo Wild Wings, announced that ISS has recommended that Buffalo Wild Wings shareholders vote FOR the election of Marcato's director nominees - Scott Bergren, Sam Rovit and Mick McGuire - on the WHITE proxy card in connection with Buffalo Wild Wings' Annual Meeting on June 2, 2017. Mick McGuire, Managing Partner of Marcato, said, "We are pleased that ISS recognizes further change on Buffalo Wild Wings' Board is needed and greater shareholder oversight would help increase Board accountability and avoid any delays in the implementation of strategic projects. ISS's independent recommendation further underscores our view that new voices and fresh perspectives are urgently required in the BWLD boardroom. Marcato's four highly-qualified nominees have the right combination of operational, strategic and financial expertise required to return the Company to a path of growth and equity value creation. We urge shareholders to vote the WHITE proxy card in favor of ALL FOUR of Marcato's nominees, who if elected, pledge to work constructively with the current Board and management team to generate meaningful, long-term value for the benefit of all BWLD shareholders."

12:53 EDT Google, IBM, Lyft introduce open source microservice project 'Istio' - Google (GOOG), IBM (IBM), and Lyft announced the first public release of Istio, an open source project that provides a uniform way to connect, secure, manage and monitor microservices. "Istio adds traffic management to microservices and creates a basis for value-add capabilities like security, monitoring, routing, connectivity management and policy... Istio gives CIOs a powerful tool to enforce security, policy and compliance requirements across the enterprise," the companies said. Reference Link

12:21 EDT Lumos Networks holders approve merger agreement with EQT Infrastructure - Lumos Networks announced that, at its annual meeting of stockholders held today, Lumos stockholders approved the merger agreement with EQT Infrastructure investment strategy. More than 99% of the shares voted at the meeting were in favor of the merger, representing approximately 81% of Lumos Networks' outstanding shares as of the record date for the meeting. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2017.

12:16 EDT Trump Effect: Steel sector upgraded with 'trade triumvirate' underestimated - Credit Suisse Analyst Curt Woodworth has upgraded the firm's rating on the U.S. Steel sector to Overweight from Market Weight, saying he expects prices to recover by late third quarter amid "strong" demand trends, low inventories, and U.S. trade actions "structurally limiting import flows." Woodworth notes that U.S. Steel equities have underperformed the market significantly since peaking in February. SECTION 232: The Department of Commerce has been tasked with determining if steel imports caused harm to the economic welfare of the U.S. under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Woodworth said the Section 232 outcome will have "significant" impacts on domestic steel stocks and he believes the Department of Commerce will find a correlation between the health of the U.S. steel industry and national security, allowing Trump to implement additional layers of trade support for the industry by imposing quotas or raising tariffs. CHANGE IN EXPORT BEHAVIOR: Woodworth said the market is underestimating the structural change in the mechanics of foreign producers' export behaviors citing President Trump's numerous executive orders and memorandum to expedite Section 232. The analyst particularly calls out Trump's "proactive steel trade triumvirate" of Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, Director of Trade and Industrial Policy Peter Navarro, and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. He added the DoC's last minute decision to invoke the Particular Market Situation rule in the Korea OCTG final ruling highlights the forceful tactics of the trade cabinet and said he expects Trump's orders to more aggressively enforce current trade laws. STOCK UPGRADES: Woodworth upgraded Nucor (NUE), U.S. Steel (X) and Steel Dynamics (STLD) to Outperform and raised his price targets to $68 from $56, to $29 from $25, and to $43 from $36, respectively. PRICE ACTION: Near noon, Nucor rose 0.2% to $58.76, U.S. Steel rose 2% to $20.80, and Steel Dynamics fell 0.2% to $35.20. "Trump Effect" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive stories that highlight stocks that are being impacted, or are predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Trump and his administration.

12:10 EDT Rackspace names Joe Eazor as CEO, effective June 12 - Rackspace (RAX) announced that the company's board of directors has appointed technology industry veteran Joe Eazor as the new CEO of Rackspace, effective on June 12. As CEO, Eazor will be responsible for the company's global strategy and operations, spanning the U.S. and the three other continents where Rackspace maintains offices and data centers. Rackspace President Jeff Cotten has served as interim CEO since the company's previous CEO, Taylor Rhodes, departed in early May. Cotten will continue to serve as president. Eazor most recently served as CEO of EarthLink (ELNK).

12:03 EDT Delta Air Lines, Grupo Aeromexico expand options for U.S.-Mexico travel - Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Grupo Aeromexico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GRPAF) are creating more options and expanded service for travelers flying between the U.S. and Mexico as they strengthen their historic partnership. This fall, subject to government approval, the airlines will launch five flights in new markets, add frequency in four markets and upgrade aircrafts in two markets. The service enhancements come as the airlines implement a new Joint Cooperation Agreement, or JCA, which deepens coordination to better serve customers. Under the JCA, Delta and Aeromexico will provide customers with expanded travel options and choice while delivering on operational performance and reliability. One of the immediate benefits of the alliance is a 10% increase in transborder seat capacity by the end of 2017. Capacity will continue to grow as the airlines expand their combined flight offerings in 2018 and beyond. Travelers can expect an experience that is best in class at every point of their journey as the airlines leverage their joint expertise serving business and leisure markets.

12:02 EDT Discover Global Network signs deal with Desjardins Group - Discover Global Network, part of Discover Financial Services, has entered into an agreement with Desjardins Group, a cooperative financial group in Canada through its Monetico payment solutions, to expand acceptance in Canada. Merchants that have business relationships with Desjardins are now able to accept cards that run on the Discover Global Network, including Discover, Diners Club and alliance partner cards.

11:55 EDT General Electric CEO says 2017 to be last big restructuring year

11:49 EDT Aerojet Rocketdyne selected as main propulsion provider for Boeing, DARPA XS-1 - Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings (AJRD), was selected to provide the main propulsion for the Boeing (BA) and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, reusable Experimental Spaceplane, or XS-1. Aerojet Rocketdyne is a member of the Boeing team that recently announced an agreement to collaborate with DARPA to design, build and test a technology demonstrator for the agency's XS-1 program. The reusable experimental spaceplane is designed to deliver small satellites into orbit with high launch responsiveness. The main propulsion is based on the legacy space shuttle main engines, or SSME. For the XS-1 program, Aerojet Rocketdyne is providing two engines with legacy shuttle flight experience to demonstrate reusability, a wide operating range and rapid turnarounds. These engines will be designated as AR-22 engines and will be assembled from parts that remained in both Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA inventories from early versions of the SSME engines. Assembly and ground testing will take place at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

11:47 EDT BNP Paribas fined $350M by New York State DFS - Financial Services Superintendent Maria T. Vullo announced that BNP Paribas and its New York branch will pay a $350M fine as part of a consent order entered into with the New York State Department of Financial Services for significant, long-term violations of New York banking law arising out of the Bank's global foreign-exchange business. The violations announced today include major deficiencies in the Bank's oversight that allowed nearly unfettered misconduct by more than a dozen BNPP traders and salespeople. Under the DFS consent order, BNPP will submit plans to improve senior management oversight of the company's compliance with New York State laws and regulations relating to the company's foreign exchange trading business. The Bank will also enhance internal controls and risk management, and improve its compliance risk management program with regard to compliance by BNPP with New York laws and regulations with respect to its foreign-exchange trading business across the firm. The Bank also has taken disciplinary action against a number of employees involved in the misconduct, including firing several employees, and has agreed not to re-employ such employees in the future.

11:33 EDT Chase Card Services announces continued Hyatt co-brand card program - Chase Card Services (JPM) announced that an affiliate of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (H) signed a multi-year extension to the co-branded Hyatt Credit Card program. Additionally, Hyatt's loyalty program, World of Hyatt, will continue as a point transfer partner through Chase Ultimate Rewards. The agreement reinforces the near decade-long relationship between Hyatt and Chase.

11:18 EDT WestRock to acquire five U.S. Corrugated facilities for $192M in cash, stock - WestRock announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain operations of U.S. Corrugated, an independent manufacturer of corrugated products for packaging and displays. WestRock will acquire five corrugated converting facilities in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana from U.S. Corrugated, through which it provides a comprehensive suite of products and services to customers in a variety of end markets. WestRock will not acquire U.S. Corrugated's facilities in California, Georgia, and in Ashland, Ohio, nor its affiliates in New Jersey and Tennessee. WestRock will pay a total consideration of approximately $192M, representing an EBITDA multiple of 5 times on a post-synergy basis. The consideration includes a combination of cash and WestRock common stock. The transaction is expected to be accretive to earnings in year one, and is expected to close in June. "When the transaction closes, we expect to realize significant synergies from supply chain optimization, better procurement, and integrating approximately 105,000 tons of the containerboard converted annually by the acquired facilities and another 50,000 tons under a long-term contract with a newly created company formed from the remaining assets of U.S. Corrugated," said Jeff Chalovich, president, Corrugated Packaging, WestRock.

11:14 EDT Boeing, DARPA to build new experimental spaceplane - Boeing (BA) and the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are collaborating to design, build and test a technology demonstration vehicle for the Experimental Spaceplane program. Boeing will develop an autonomous, reusable spaceplane capable of carrying and deploying a small expendable upper stage to launch small satellites into low Earth orbit. Boeing and DARPA will jointly invest in the development. The Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD) AR-22 engine, a version of the legacy Space Shuttle main engine, would power the spaceplane, called Phantom Express. In the test phase of the program, Boeing and DARPA plan to conduct a demonstration of 10 flights over 10 days.

10:55 EDT Carson Block says 'skeptical' of online advertising as business model - Carson Block of Muddy Waters, while speaking on Bloomberg TV, said he's skeptical of online digital advertising as a business model. The short-seller said earlier that Snap may be a "compelling short" in the future.

10:53 EDT Carson Black says Snap may be 'compelling short' in the future - Carson Black of Muddy Waters is speaking on Bloomberg TV.

10:27 EDT Linde confirms agreement in principle with Praxair on merger of equals - Linde AG (LNEGY) confirms agreement in principle with Praxair (PX) on a business combination agreement governing a merger of equals between the two companies subject to board approvals of both parties. The deal teams of Linde and Praxair have reached an agreement in principle on the agreement which governs the envisaged merger of equals between the two companies, Linde announced. The execution of the transaction will be subject to its approval by the shareholders meeting of Praxair with the required majority, the acceptance of the holding company's public exchange offer by presumably a minimum of 75% of the outstanding Linde shares, clearance of the transaction by the competent regulatory authorities and the satisfaction of certain other conditions.

10:25 EDT Linde confirms agreement in principle with Praxair on merger of equals

10:10 EDT Citi Trends says investors elect Macellum nominee Jonathan Duskin to board - Citi Trends announced that, according to preliminary voting tabulations, stockholders have re-elected Barbara Levy and R. Edward Anderson to the Board of Directors, and also elected Jonathan Duskin to the company's Board of Directors. Additionally, stockholders voted in favor of all other proposals submitted for a vote at the Annual Meeting. The vote is subject to certification by IVS Associates Inc., the independent inspectors of election.

10:04 EDT CVS CEO: 'You don't take anything lightly' that Amazon may be doing - Commenting on reports that Amazon (AMZN) is getting more serious about breaking into the pharmacy market, CVS (CVS) President and CEO Larry Merlo said that Amazon is a "respected competitor," and "you don't take anything lightly that they may be doing." Says that the role of pharmacy is "more than just dispensing a prescription." Says pharmacy a "very different business operation than some of the consumer-based commodity categories" Amazon currently offers. Says CVS is investing more in digital tools to enhance patient experience. Comments made by President and CEO Larry Merlo at the UBS Global Healthcare Conference.

10:02 EDT Concert holders approve CTP-656 asset purchase agreement with Vertex

09:49 EDT UniFirst trading resumes

09:43 EDT Vonage CEO says 'very confident' past outage problems are behind it - Vonage CEO Alan Masarek, speaking at JP Morgan's Technology, Media and Telecom conference, was responding to a question about prior service outages the company had suffered.

09:36 EDT UniFirst announces passing of CEO Ronald Croatti - UniFirst announced with great sadness the passing of Ronald Croatti, the company's chairman, president, and CEO, as a result of complications associated with pneumonia. UniFirst's Board of Directors will promptly begin the process to select a new CEO and will consider the company's interim management arrangements.

09:33 EDT Lowe's says sees 'significant opportunity' in DIY and Pro categories

09:28 EDT Tiffany drops as tourists', domestic customer spending dampens sales - Shares of Tiffany & Co (TIF) dropped in morning trading after the luxury goods retailer reported quarterly sales that fell below analysts' forecasts as well as a decline in comparable store sales. Tiffany said its results were impacted by a decline in spending by both foreign tourists and domestic customers. EARNINGS: Tiffany reported first quarter adjusted earnings per share of 74c, beating analysts' estimates of 70c, though its revenue of $900M was below estimates of $913.4M. Worldwide net sales increased 1% an due to growth in Asia-Pacific and an increase in the wholesale sale of diamonds, and comparable store sales were down 3% from the prior year. On a constant-exchange-rate basis, Tiffany said worldwide net sales rose 2% and comparable store sales declined 2% from the prior year. The jeweler noted that higher fashion and designer jewelry sales contrasted with softness in other categories. In the Americas, Tiffany's sales fell 3% and SSS fell 4%, but total sales in the Asia-Pacific region increased 8% from last year. Looking ahead, Tiffany backed its expectation for fiscal 2017 net earnings to increase by a high-single-digit percentage over 2016's EPS of $3.55 and by a mid-single-digit-percentage over 2016's EPS of $3.75 and worldwide net sales up by a low single digit percentage and by a mid-single-digit percentage on a constant-exchange-rate basis over last year. However, the company updated its worldwide net sales outlook for FY17, and now sees net sales increasing over the prior year by a low-single-digit percentage as reported and on a constant-exchange-rate basis, below the prior outlook of an increase in worldwide net sales on a constant-exchange-rate basis of mid-single digits. Analysts currently expect Tiffany to report FY17 EPS of $3.97 on revenue of $4.11B. On its quarterly earnings call, VP of Investor Relations Mark Aaron said the company is on track to achieve its guidance in light of expectations for continued challenges from macro economic conditions, geopolitical uncertainty, and a strong U.S. dollar. While Aaron said Tiffany experienced "generally soft" performance across the U.S. in Q1 due to lower local and foreign tourist demand, he did not break out sales for the company's New York flagship store, which last quarter represented under 10% of worldwide net sales. CFO Mark Erceg commented that while bottom line results in Q1 "slightly exceeded" near-term expectations, "they certainly do not satisfy our longer-term ambition." At the same time, he said Q1 results "have not fundamentally changed our view for FY17" and commented that Tiffany is not "overly focused" on macro factors the company cannot influence. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Earlier this year, Tiffany increased the size of its board of directors to 13 members from 10 with the addition of three new independent directors. The move came as a result of pressure from activist investor JANA Partners, which together with Francesco Trapani owns approximately 5.1% of Tiffany's outstanding shares, and had pushed Tiffany, amid declining sales and profits, to oust former CEO Frederic Cumenal in February after nearly two years. Chairman and interim CEO Michael Kowalski has been leading Tiffany while assisting in a search to find a new CEO. An updated timeline and progress on the CEO search was not disclosed this morning. ANALYST COMMENTARY: William Blair analyst Dylan Carden said he expects shares to remain pressured on its softer underlying sales performance and outlook. He said the company's supply chain and product initiatives will "start to show" in the second half of the year, making guidance "more subject to macro swings and potentially a gap in creative/management." Cowen analyst Oliver Chen said he "appreciates" Tiffany's focus on product and marketing and sees a stronger second half of the year. Chen said he is a "strong believer" in Tiffany's long-term growth prospects. PEERS IN THE NEWS: Other publicly traded retailers of fine jewelry include Signet Jewelers (SIG), which is slated to report quarterly results tomorrow morning. Earlier this month, Signet reached an agreement with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, to resolve all claims related to the pay and promotion of female retail sales employees at the company. The company said that its consent decree from the EEOC also stated that there were "no findings of liability or wrongdoing," and that it was not required to pay a monetary award. Signet last quarter reported better-than-expected profit for Q4, but its profit guidance for fiscal 2018 fell well short of expectations. At the same time, Signet said it would review its equal opportunities and other workplace-related policies, as it stepped up efforts to restore its reputation following allegations of sexual harassment at its Sterling Jewelers unit and diamond swapping allegations. PRICE ACTION: Tiffany shares sunk nearly 8% in pre-market trading. Signet Jewelers is down about 4% in pre-market trading ahead of tomorrow's earnings report.

09:24 EDT Actinium Pharmaceuticals granted orphan designation in EU for Actimab-A - Actinium Pharmaceuticals announced that Actimab-A has been granted orphan designation in the European Union by the European Medicines Agency, or EMA. Actimab-A is intended to be used, upon approval, in patients newly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML, who are over the age of 60 that are ineligible for standard induction therapy. Actimab-A is currently in a multi-center Phase 2 clinical trial that will enroll 53 patients.

09:23 EDT Lowe's says gross margin erosion due to product mix, Rona acquisition

09:17 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Tilly's (TLYS), up 20.2%... Intuit (INTU), up 7.8%... Container Store (TCS), up 34.9%. ALSO HIGHER: Inovio Pharmaceuticals (INO), up 38.4% after its HIV vaccine elicits nearly 100% immune response rates in its clinical study... Insys Therapeutics (INSY), up 4.9% after the FDA approved the final product label for Syndros. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Lowe's (LOW), down 3.1%... Dycom (DY), down 14.6%... Advance Auto Parts (AAP), down 5.8%... Tiffany (TIF), down 7.1%. ALSO LOWER: Bunge (BG), down 6.7% after the company issued a statement saying it is not engaged in merger talks with Glencore (GLNCY)... Scorpio Tankers (STNG), down 2.1% after its 50M share Spot Secondary priced at $4.00... Syndax (SNDX), down 6% after filing to sell $50M of common stock.

09:12 EDT Collaborative Health Systems, Curant Health partner for poly-chronic program - Collaborative Health Systems, a WellCare company, and Curant Health, a medication management company, announced the launch of a pilot program intended to improve medication adherence and overall health outcomes for individuals with multiple chronic conditions, also known as poly-chronic. The pilot program provides medication management and patient support services to targeted beneficiaries who are assigned to Medicare Shared Savings Program Accountable Care Organizations managed by CHS and physician partners. Longer term partnership objectives include the expectation that focus on medication adherence may drive positive impact on ACO quality measures and shared savings. Nearly half of ACO quality measures depend on appropriate medication management and adherence.

09:10 EDT Lowe's says U.S. housing to remain a 'bright spot' in 2017

09:08 EDT Spartan Motors appoints James A. Sharman as Chairman of the Board - Spartan Motors announced that James A. Sharman has been elected by its Board to serve as Chairman of the Board, effective immediately. Sharman will succeed Hugh Sloan, who is retiring from this role which he has served in since 2010. Sharman joined the Spartan Board in February 2016 as an Independent Director. He currently serves as the COO of Coyote Logistics.

09:07 EDT Glass Lewis supports election of Mark Ravich to Rockwell Medical board - Richmond Brothers and Mark Ravich, who together with their affiliates beneficially own nearly 6.1M shares, or 11.7% of the Rockwell Medical's outstanding common stock, announced that Glass Lewis, an independent proxy voting advisory firm, has recommended that Rockwell shareholders vote on the blue proxy card to elect nominee Mark Ravich to the board. Both leading independent proxy voting advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, have now recommended that investors vote on the blue proxy card for the election of Mark Ravich, against the advisory vote to ratify named executive officers' compensation, supporting the one year frequency for an advisory vote on say on pay, and against approving the company's long term incentive plan. To follow these recommendations, Rockwell shareholders should not vote on the company's white proxy card. "In reaching its conclusion, Glass Lewis noted the history of underperformance and strategic missteps at Rockwell, and the failure to monetize the company's promising drugs Triferic and Calcitriol. Glass Lewis conducted a detailed analysis of both sides' positions and carefully considered, among other things, the company's total shareholder return, operating performance and financial performance, as well as the strong experience and qualifications of nominee Mark Ravich," the announcement said.

09:06 EDT MagneGas reports positive results of new feedstock improvements - MagneGas has transitioned to a new renewable feedstock that results in approximately a 60% increase in fuel output per minute while yielding approximately a 49% reduction in fuel production cost. The company has a patent pending for the usage of this new feedstock in its gasification systems, which it expects will be granted. The new renewable feedstock significantly improves the operation of the company's units, which translates to reduced operating costs.

09:05 EDT Napo lauches Mytesi video featuring commentary from people living with HIV/AIDS - Napo Pharmaceuticals, which launched Mytesi in April, 2017, and Jaguar Animal Health, which has licensed worldwide veterinary rights to Mytesi and is focused on developing and commercializing first-in-class gastrointestinal products for companion and production animals, foals, and high value horses, announced Napo's launch of a Mytesi video featuring commentary from people living with HIV/AIDS describing the challenges of living for years with HIV-related diarrhea and the impact that diarrhea has on their daily lives. Napo's Mytesi product is approved by the U.S. FDA for the symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy. The 2.5-minute video, containing quotes from HIV patients recently interviewed by Napo, is being used by Napo's national salesforce to broaden awareness about Mytesi and HIV-related diarrhea among healthcare providers and people suffering from HIV. "Chronic, symptomatic diarrhea remains a major, underreported consequence of HIV and a significant burden for HIV patients. In fact, a recent study shows that one in five people living with HIV experience diarrhea. Many HIV patients are only aware of over-the-counter drugs as treatments for diarrhea. These agents have not been studied specifically in people living with HIV/AIDS. In addition, Imodium and Lomotil-opioids that work by slowing movement through the GI tract-can cause constipation. Mytesi is the only drug studied in and FDA-approved for relief of diarrhea in HIV+ patients," stated Lisa Conte, Napo's interim CEO and Jaguar's president and CEO. "The active pharmaceutical ingredient in Mytesi, crofelemer, is a first-in-class anti-secretory agent offering a natural solution and a novel, normalizing mechanism of action in both humans and animals."

08:59 EDT Eltek signs agreement for distribution in Italy - Eltek announced an agreement with NCAB Group Italy to distribute Eltek's products in Italy. The NCAB Group operates with own sales offices in 14 countries and sell printed circuits boards to a range of industries and markets.

08:58 EDT Clipper Realty to acquire residential property in Manhattan for $79M - Clipper Realty announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 10 West 65 St New York, New York, which comprises approximately 82,000 square feet plus 53,000 square feet of air rights for $79M or $585 per square foot. The 82 unit property is located near Lincoln Center and Central Park in the Upper West Side submarket of Manhattan. The company plans to invest incremental capital to enhance the property. The company expects to finance the acquisition with property level mortgage debt and cash on hand, with expected closing by Q4. The company makes no assurances that this acquisition will be completed on the terms agreed, or at all.

08:52 EDT Anthem says has started to execute on share buyback plans

08:48 EDT Anthem says 'always hopeful' it can amicably settle Express Scripts disagreement

08:47 EDT DryShips announces delivery of newbuilding Suezmax tanker, 5-year time charter - DryShips announced that on May 19, it has taken delivery of the previously announced 159,855 deadweight tons newbuilding Suezmax tanker. The vessel was chartered back to the seller and on May 24, commenced its five year time charter plus optional periods in charterer's option, at a base rate plus profit share. The total expected gross backlog under the time charter, assuming an average spot market for Suezmaxes for the next 5 years of $25,000 per day is estimated to be approximately $43.1M. The vessel was acquired from and chartered out to entities affiliated with chairman and CEO, George Economou.

08:45 EDT Anthem says 'about halfway through' PBM request-for-proposal process

08:40 EDT Exelon's Three Mile Island, Quad Cities plants did not clear PJM auction - Exelon Corporation announced that its Three Mile Island and Quad Cities nuclear plants did not clear in the latest PJM capacity auction, highlighting the challenge nuclear energy continues to face without compensation for its ability to produce electricity without harmful carbon and air pollution and to contribute to grid resilience. TMI did not clear in the past three PJM base residual auctions. TMI remains economically challenged as a result of continued low wholesale power prices and the lack of federal or Pennsylvania energy policies that value zero-emissions nuclear energy. Exelon has been working with stakeholders on options for the continued operation of TMI, which has not been profitable in five years. "Exelon remains fully committed to keeping the Quad Cities plant open, provided that FEJA's Zero Emissions Credit program is implemented as expected and provided that Quad Cities is selected to participate," said Joe Dominguez, Exelon's executive vice president of Government and Regulatory Affairs and Public Policy. "However, Quad has not been selected to receive ZECs under the FEJA program to date." Exelon's other nuclear plants in PJM cleared in the auction for the 2020-2021 planning year. Oyster Creek did not participate in the auction, as the plant is scheduled to retire in 2019. The auction results take effect June 1, 2020.

08:39 EDT Veru Healthcare to advance VERU-944 to Phase 2 trial after FDA meeting - Veru Healthcare, a division of The Female Health Company, announced that following a Pre-Investigational New Drug Application meeting with the FDA, it plans to advance into Phase 2 clinical trial its proprietary drug candidate, VERU-944, for the treatment of hot flashes in men receiving hormone therapy for prostate cancer. Initially VERU-944 will be developed as a once weekly oral agent for the treatment of hot flashes that are often associated with the use of androgen deprivation therapy, or ADT, in men with advanced prostate cancer. Approximately 80% of men receiving one of the common forms of ADT, including Lupron, Eligard and Firmagon, experience hot flashes.

08:37 EDT Anthem CEO says 'still uncertain' what ACA marketplaces will look like - Anthem Chairman and CEO Joe Swedish said at the UBS Global Healthcare Conference that the company is in "deep dialogue" with states about their ACA marketplaces and that there is still a lot of uncertainty and volatility regarding that situation.

08:36 EDT Catasys begins enrollment for On Trak-C solution in Texas - Catasys has launched enrollment under the previously announced contract for its OnTrak-C solution coverage in Texas with a health plan that has the largest Medicaid plan in Texas. Eligible Medicaid members will be covered for treatment of Substance Use Disorder including alcoholism, under OnTrak-C, a 52-week, multi-phase program in which enrolled members receive medical and psychosocial interventions, as well as intensive care coaching.

08:33 EDT CDK Global to acquire privately-held Auto/Mate; terms not disclosed - CDK GLOBA and Auto/Mate Dealership Systems announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby CDK will acquire Auto/Mate, a privately held company that provides a suite of DMS products and solutions to over 1000 new car dealership sites. CDK plans to integrate the Auto/Mate DMS into its product lineup to better address the full spectrum of dealership needs, providing dealers with the choice and flexibility to combine the Auto/Mate DMS product offerings with fully integrated access to the CDK solution suite. The transaction has been approved by each company's board of directors and is subject to customary closing requirements and regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close later this summer. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Presidio Technology Partners is acting as exclusive advisor and McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams, PC and Jenner & Block LLP are serving as legal counsel to Auto/Mate in the transaction.

08:32 EDT Campbell Soup announces partnership, investment of $10M in Chef'd - Campbell Soup Company announced a strategic partnership and investment of $10M in Chef'd, an e-commerce meal marketplace, which will help grow Campbell's e-commerce capabilities. Campbell's investment is part of the Series B round of funding for Chef'd. With the investment, Campbell will become Chef'd's largest strategic investor and will receive a seat on the company's board of directors. Under the terms of the partnership, Chef'd will help with infrastructure and distribution of meal solutions through the Campbell's Kitchen site. Additionally, Campbell will benefit from Chef'd's insights on e-commerce business models, access to data analytics and insights on shopper behaviors. The two companies will also test various capabilities over the three-year agreement around product innovation and fulfilment. This announcement follows a series of moves Campbell has made to develop an ecosystem of innovative partners focused on defining the future of food. In February 2016, Campbell committed $125M to Acre Venture Partners and continues to support innovative start-ups such as Habit and the Soulfull Project. Other investors in Chef'd's Series B round include Fresh Direct, which is making a follow-on investment to their Series A investment. DA Davidson & Co. acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Chef'd and will continue to represent the company in raising the balance of the Series B round.

08:18 EDT Align Technology reaches 1M Invisalign teenage patients - Align Technology announced that 1M teenage patients have now started treatment with Invisalign.

08:16 EDT Varian Medical selected to provide first proton therapy system in Thailand - Varian Medical Systems announced it has been selected through its distributor, Business Alignment, to supply and install a Varian ProBeam Compact single-room proton therapy system in the oncology center at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. First patient treatments are expected to start in the second half of 2019. In addition to the equipment, Varian will also provide its Eclipse treatment planning system and ARIA information management system. Varian is booking the order for the equipment in the third quarter of its fiscal year 2017.

08:14 EDT Pareteum awarded new cloud services contract by a UK-based CSP - Pareteum announced that it has been awarded a new cloud services contract by a UK-based Communications Service Provider under which it will provide on-demand hosted Home Location Register services. The new CSP customer intends to utilize the subscriber database management and billing capabilities of the Company's Global Mobility Cloud Platform to manage its end users' mobile devices. The service will be established in the third quarter with the expectation of transaction-based revenue to commence during the fourth quarter.

08:06 EDT PSEG reports PJM auction results - Public Service Enterprise Group subsidiary company, PSEG Power, reported its results from the PJM Capacity Auction for the planning year 2020/2021. The company cleared approximately 7,800 MWs at a weighted average clearing price of $174 per megawatt-day. This was the first planning year that all capacity clearing the auction had to meet PJM's capacity performance requirements.

08:06 EDT Inovio HIV vaccine elicits nearly 100% immune response rates in clinical study

08:05 EDT Korea Fund announces preliminary results of tender offer - The Board of Directors o The Korea Fund announced the preliminary results of its tender offer. As previously announced, the Fund conducted a tender offer to purchase for cash up to 10% of its issued and outstanding common stock, at a price equal to 98% of its net asset value per share determined on the expiration date. The Fund's tender offer expired at 5:00 p.m. New York City time, on Tuesday, May 23, 2017. Based on preliminary information provided by American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the depositary for the tender offer, 4,595,127 common shares, or approximately 70.28% of the Fund's common shares outstanding, were tendered. The Fund has accepted 653,807 of its common shares for cash payment at a price equal to $43.22 per share. This purchase price is 98% of the Fund's NAV of $44.10 as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE on May 23, 2017, the pricing date stated in the Offer to Purchase.

08:04 EDT Protagonist Therapeutics receives $1.34M SBIR funding for biomarker development - Protagonist Therapeutics received a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. This award provides up to $1.34M over two years to support research aimed at developing biomarkers that define IL-23 receptor target engagement by oral peptide antagonists and the effects of that engagement on downstream signaling. Such biomarkers can be used for demonstrating early pharmacodynamics clinical proof-of-concept and estimating effective dose range for the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases with anti-IL-23R agents, including Protagonist's oral peptide drug candidate, PTG-200. The company expects to initiate human clinical testing of PTG-200 in 2H17.

08:03 EDT Takeda to feature new clinical analyses during three medical meeetings - Takeda Pharmaceutical said it will feature new clinical analyses and outcomes research during three upcoming medical meetings: the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, June 2-6 in Chicago, the 22nd Congress of the European Hematology Association, June 22-25 in Madrid, and the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma 2017, June 14-17 in Lugano, Switzerland. Presentations at this year's meetings will highlight Takeda's ongoing commitment to patients with hematologic cancers, while demonstrating a broadened portfolio with the recent addition of new targeted therapies and pipeline assets in solid tumors. At ASCO, Takeda will present patient-reported outcomes and quality of life findings from the pivotal Phase 2 ALTA trial of ALUNBRIG, which recently received Accelerated Approval from the U.S. FDA for the treatment of patients with anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive metastatic non-small cell lung cancer who have progressed on or are intolerant to crizotinib. Approximately two to eight percent of patients with metastatic NSCLC have a rearrangement in the ALK gene. Results from an analysis of the drug's activity in crizotinib-resistant ALK+ NSCLC patients according to ALK plasma mutation status will also be featured. Both ASCO and EHA will feature findings from studies of Takeda medicines for the treatment of a variety of blood cancers, including lymphoma, multiple myeloma and chronic myeloid leukemia. Data from the Phase 3 ALCANZA study of ADCETRIS in CD30-positive cutaneous T-cell lymphoma will be presented at both ASCO and EHA. Several Phase 1 and 2 studies investigating NINLARO in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma will be presented at EHA, including two oral presentations which evaluated ixazomib plus lenalidomide and dexamethasone followed by maintenance with single-agent ixazomib. In addition, ASCO and EHA will highlight five-year data from the Phase 2 PACE trial of ICLUSIG in heavily pretreated chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia.

08:02 EDT Amira Nature Foods expands distribution footprint in Germany - Amira Nature Foods announced that it has expanded its distribution footprint in Germany by obtaining a national listing with Rewe Group, a German retailer. Amira's German subsidiary, AMIRA BASMATI RICE GMBH EUR currently sells its Amira, Atry, Sadry, Sativa, Scheherazade and Sultan brands into more than 4,000 retail stores in Germany and in neighboring European countries. The national listing in Germany with Rewe will increase total distribution in the German region to approximately 6,400 retail stores.

07:50 EDT xG Technology announces $3M in new orders - xG Technology announced that its IMT and Vislink businesses have received approximately $3M in new order and pre-order commitments directly resulting from their appearance at the NAB 2017 Show. Subsequent to the show, which took place April 22-27, upwards of 20% of these commitments have been converted into firm orders.The orders have included a wide array of IMT and Vislink video equipment, including comprehensive HEVC and 4K UHD wireless camera systems, fully-integrated satellite systems, as well as other transmit and receive components. The purchases have originated from broadcast and media organizations located in both the U.S. and internationally. IMT and Vislink showcased the full range of their Industry-Leading video capture, delivery and management solutions at NAB 2017 and was also a featured presenter at conferences held during the event.

07:49 EDT Tahoe Resources reports on Escobal mine claim in Guatemala - Tahoe Resources has learned that an anti-mining organization, CALAS, has filed a claim against Guatemala's Ministry of Energy and Mines alleging that MEM violated the Xinca indigenous people's right of consultation in advance of granting the Escobal mining license to Tahoe's Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael. The company believes that the claim by CALAS is without merit, based on the lack of indigenous communities in or around the mine, and the fact that both MEM and Minera San Rafael participated in and documented hundreds of public and private meetings and open consultations in and around the mine area dating back to 2010. Minera San Rafael consulted with a number of indigenous people during its many meetings. Under Guatemalan law, MEM has 48 hours from the date of notice to issue a response to the Supreme Court, after which the Supreme Court is expected to issue an initial ruling in the next four weeks. The claim has had no impact on existing operations at the mine.

07:39 EDT Primoris announces heavy civil award valued over $56M - Primoris Services announced a new heavy civil award valued at over $56 million. The contract was secured by Primoris Heavy Civil, part of the Civil segment. The project was awarded by the City of Houston's Department of Aviation for work at George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The project consists of a multiple phased reconstruction of the full limits of Taxiway NA, including concrete pavement and airfield lighting. The work involves operating a concrete crusher, a portable concrete batch plant, and a concrete paving train on the property. Work is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2017, and completion is expected in the second quarter of 2019.

07:36 EDT EU commercial vehicle registrations down 7.2% in April - In April, EU commercial vehicle registrations dropped 7.2% to total 181,434 units, mainly due to the fact that Easter fell in April this year, reported the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. During the first four months of the year, the EU market expanded by 3.8% despite last month's negative results, the ACEA noted. Truck makers and suppliers include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Paccar (PCAR), CNH Industrial (CNHI), Navistar (NAV), Cummins (CMI) and Allison Transmission (ALSN).

07:35 EDT Coca-Cola nears completion of U.S. refranchising plan - The Coca-Cola Company is moving closer to completing the refranchising of its company-owned territories in the U.S, thanks to a new letter of intent involving a significant area of the Northeast. Coca-Cola Refreshments executives Paul Mulligan and Fran McGorry are joining together to form a new bottling company called Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages. They have signed a letter of intent for territories that include metropolitan New York, Philadelphia, most of the state of New Jersey and part of Delaware, plus four production facilities. This area is known as the Tri-State Metro Operating Unit of Coca-Cola Refreshments, which is a unit of The Coca-Cola Company. The next step is a definitive agreement, followed by a closing. The Coca-Cola Company remains on track to complete refranchising of its U.S. territories by the end of 2017. There are agreements or letters of intent for 100% of the U.S. territories of Coca-Cola Refreshments. This agreement is the latest element of an ongoing plan to refranchise all of The Coca-Cola Company's U.S. bottling territories. The company also has reached definitive agreements or signed letters of intent for all 51 cold-fill production facilities in the U.S. Mulligan, McGorry and The Coca-Cola Company are committed to working together to implement a smooth transition with minimal disruption for customers, consumers and system associates. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

07:34 EDT Chico's reports Q1 gross margin 40.7% of net sales - For the first quarter, gross margin was $237.4M, or 40.7% of net sales, compared to $262.3M, or 40.8% of net sales, in last year's first quarter. This 10 basis point decrease primarily reflects sales deleverage of store occupancy expenses, substantially offset by an improvement in merchandise margin.

07:32 EDT Chico's reports inventories totaled $273.9M at end of Q1 - At the end of the first quarter of 2017, inventories totaled $273.9M compared to $268M in the same period last year. The $5.9M increase in inventories primarily reflected a $10.5M increase in in-transit inventories, largely due to a shift in shipping terms with a major vendor, partially offset by a 2.0% decrease in on-hand inventories compared to the same period last year.

07:24 EDT Tiffany down 5% after Q1 results, guidance - In pre-market trading, shares are down 5.5% to $88.00.

07:16 EDT Crestwood Equity to contribute Willow Lake assets to Delaware Basin JV - Crestwood Equity and First Reserve announced that Crestwood Permian Basin Holdings, a joint venture focused on developing, owning and operating midstream infrastructure in the Delaware Basin, has agreed to acquire Crestwood's Willow Lake gathering and processing assets located in Eddy County, New Mexico. Crestwood and First Reserve also announced that the joint venture has fully sanctioned the construction of a 200M cubic feet per day cryogenic gas processing plant located near Orla, TX and related infrastructure required to connect the Willow Lake system to the plant and multiple third-party pipelines. Initial project capital for the Orla Expansion project is expected to be approximately $170M with an in-service date in the second half of 2018. Under the terms of the transaction, the joint venture will continue to be owned 50% by Crestwood and 50% by First Reserve. First Reserve will fund 100% of the initial capital requirements during the early-stage build-out of the Orla expansion, after which Crestwood will fund 100% of capital requirements until both parties have made an equal amount of capital contributions. In connection with the expansion, Crestwood will contribute its Willow Lake gathering and processing assets to the joint venture at a value of $151M, and this value will be credited as part of Crestwood's capital requirements to the joint venture. Capital requirements thereafter are expected to be funded 50/50 by Crestwood and First Reserve. Crestwood will continue to receive 100% of the available cash flow generated by the Willow Lake assets until the earlier of the Orla plant in-service date or June 30, 2018, at which time the parties will receive distributions on a 50/50 basis. Following the closing of this transaction, the joint venture will own all of Crestwood's Delaware Basin assets, which include the Nautilus gas gathering system and the Willow Lake gas gathering and processing system. The Conflicts Committee of Crestwood's Board of Directors unanimously recommended this transaction, and the board unanimously approved the transaction. The Willow Lake contribution is subject to anti-trust review, and the parties expect to close the transaction in June.

07:10 EDT CEL-SCI: FDA identified new deficiencies in April 19 submission

07:09 EDT Opus Bank's PENSCO Trust agrees to custody Merrill Lynch assets - Opus Bank announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, PENSCO Trust Company, has entered into an agreement with Merrill Lynch to custody certain alternative assets, such as non-traded REITs and unregistered limited partnerships, and open new accounts for their clients' individual retirement accounts and qualified plans that are invested in these assets. The transfer of accounts occurred on May 22.

07:06 EDT Garmin announces VIRB 360 compact 360-degree camera - Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd., announced the VIRB 360, "a compact, rugged and fully spherical 360-degree camera. The waterproof VIRB 360 is an easy-to-use camera that captures impressive high-quality video up to 5.7K/30fps, with four built-in microphones to ensure everything sounds as good as it looks in any direction. Whether users are kayaking down river rapids or mountain biking through rough terrain, the VIRB 360's 4K Spherical Stabilization2 makes every video smooth and steady."

07:03 EDT root9B Technologies says requires additional time to file Form 10-Q - root9B Holdings announced that its Board of Directors has rescheduled the 2017 annual meeting of stockholders originally scheduled for May 24, 2017. The annual meeting is now scheduled to take place on July 19, 2017 at 10:15 am ET at the offices of the Company located at 102 N. Cascade Avenue, Suite 220, Colorado Springs, CO 80919. The previously announced transition of the CEO of RTNB from Joseph J. Grano, Jr. to Eric Hipkins on May 24, 2017 will take place as scheduled. Grano will remain with RTNB as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board. RTNB also announced that it will require additional time to file its Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2017. RTNB filed an extension on May 16, 2017 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and was granted an additional 5 calendar days to file its Form 10-Q. RTNB received a notification letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market on May 23, 2017 that it is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) because RTNB did not timely file its Form 10-Q with the SEC. The Nasdaq letter provides that RTNB has until July 25, 2017 to submit a plan to regain compliance. RTNB now expects that it will complete and file its Form 10-Q in June, at which time it will automatically regain compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules.

07:02 EDT Roadrunner moving corporate headquarters to Downers Grove, IL office - Roadrunner announced that it is moving its corporate headquarters to its existing office in Downers Grove, Illinois to locate its new executive management team for easier travel to both customers and geographically dispersed operating units. The company will retain office space and key business and support functions at its previous corporate headquarters in Cudahy, Wisconsin. Approximately 185 positions will remain at the Cudahy location with no workforce reduction planned.

07:01 EDT Akebia doses first patient in Phase 2 FO2RWARD study of Vadadustat - Akebia Therapeutics announced that the company dosed the first patient in its Phase 2 FO2RWARD study of vadadustat in dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease patients who are hyporesponsive to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. Vadadustat is an oral HIF stabilizer currently in Phase 3 development for the treatment of anemia related to chronic kidney disease. FO2RWARD is a randomized, open-label study that will assess the safety and efficacy of vadadustat versus an active comparator, epoetin alfa, in approximately 80 DD-CKD patients with ESA hyporesponse in the United States. The primary outcome measure will be the percent reduction in previously prescribed epoetin alfa dose and change in hemoglobin level over the course of the study. Akebia expects to report data from FO2RWARD by the end of 2018. In a previously published retrospective analysis conducted by Akebia in collaboration with DaVita Clinical Research, a wholly-owned subsidiary of DaVita HealthCare Partners Inc., persistently greater mortality, greater iron and ESA use, and lower hemoglobin levels were observed in DD-CKD patients with ESA hyporesponse compared to non-ESA hyporesponsive patients. The article, titled "Spectrum and Burden of Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent Hyporesponsiveness Among Contemporary Hemodialysis Patients," was published online in the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

07:00 EDT Puma Biotechnology trading halted, news pending

06:53 EDT Insys Therapeutics' Syndros granted final product label by FDA - Insys Therapeutics announced that the FDA has approved the final product label for Syndros oral solution, CII, a liquid formulation of the pharmaceutical cannabinoid, dronabinol. This is the last regulatory step required prior to the product's launch. Syndros is approved for use in treating anorexia associated with weight loss in patients with AIDS and nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy in patients who have failed to respond adequately to conventional antiemetic treatments.

06:49 EDT Bank of Montreal increases quarterly dividend to C90c per share - Bank of Montreal announced that the Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of C90c per share on paid-up common shares of Bank of Montreal for the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, a 2c increase from the previous quarter and up 5% from a year ago. The dividend on the common shares is payable on August 28, 2017, to shareholders of record on August 1, 2017. The dividends on the preferred shares are payable on August 25, 2017, to shareholders of record on August 1, 2017.

06:49 EDT Pfizer recommends shareholders reject mini-tender offer by TRC Capital - Pfizer has received notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by TRC Capital Corporation of Ontario, Canada to purchase up to 4 million shares of Pfizer common stock at a price of $31.60 per share in cash. TRC Capital's offer price of $31.60 per share is approximately 4.27% lower than the $33.01 closing share price of Pfizer's common stock on May 12, the business day prior to the date of the offer. The offer is for approximately 0.067% of the shares of Pfizer common stock outstanding. Pfizer recommends that stockholders do not tender their shares in response to TRC Capital's offer because the offer is at a price below the current market price for Pfizer's shares and subject to numerous conditions. Pfizer is not affiliated or associated in any way with TRC Capital, its mini-tender offer or the offer documentation. TRC Capital has made many similar mini-tender offers for shares of other companies. The offer is currently scheduled to expire at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, June 14.

06:42 EDT Seadrill says Anton Dibowitz to succeed Per Wullf as CEO on July 1 - The Board of Seadrill Limited announced the appointment of Anton Dibowitz as CEO with effect from July 1. Anton Dibowitz will succeed Per Wullf who will remain a Director of the company. Anton Dibowitz, currently Chief Commercial Officer and Executive Vice President, will be appointed CEO, effective July 1, following a succession planning process that was implemented during 2016. Per Wullf will continue as CEO until the end of June.

06:41 EDT Tiffany reports Q1 gross margin 62% vs. 61.2% a year ago - Primarily reflecting favorable product input costs and a shift in sales mix toward higher margin fashion jewelry products, partly offset by increased wholesale sales of diamonds.

06:36 EDT Tiffany reports Q1 comparable store sales ex-FX declined 2% - On a constant-exchange-rate basis that excludes the effect of translating foreign-currency-denominated sales into U.S. dollars, worldwide net sales increased 2% due to factors noted above, as well as sales growth in Europe, and comparable store sales declined 2%. Higher fashion and designer jewelry sales contrasted with softness in other categories.

06:34 EDT Advance Auto Parts ups multi-year gross productivity target to $750M from $500M - CEO Greco said, "As in the past several quarters, our operating margin reflects our deliberate choices to restore investments in the customer and improve overall service and delivery. In addition to making these critical customer investments, we are increasing and accelerating our initial gross productivity target of $500 million over 5 years to $750 million over 4 years. While some of this cost benefit will be used to fund growth initiatives, much of it will drive margin improvement. Our sustained focus on the customer will position us to deliver sequential top line improvement in comparable store sales and improved profitability as our productivity agenda accelerates in the second half of 2017."

06:31 EDT Advance Auto Parts ups multi-year gross productivity target to $750M from $500M

06:18 EDT 21Vianet enters partnership with Microsoft,Tencent - 21Vianet Group (VNET) is partnering with Microsoft (MSFT) and Tencent (TCEHY) to enhance Tencent Weiyun by leveraging Office Online operated by 21Vianet. The partnership will enable users of Tencent's cloud storage service, Weiyun, to view and to collaboratively edit Office documents online. The new service will increase the efficiency with which users can collaborate via the cloud and access Office documents via multiple devices. 21Vianet's partnership with Tencent and Microsoft offers Tencent Cloud users enhanced convenience of a mobile office anytime, anywhere as well as office collaboration among multiple enterprise users, thus significantly enhancing working efficiency. Clients can directly edit Word Online, Excel Online and PowerPoint Online documents via Tencent Weiyun. All changes are automatically saved onto the cloud storage platform. It also simplifies cloud-based document processing procedures from cumbersome steps like downloading, saving and uploading.

06:15 EDT DaVita appoints Eric Severson as Chief People Officer - DaVita division DaVita Kidney Care has hired Eric Severson as the company's new Chief People Officer. Severson has 15 years of executive level human resources experience with Gap Inc. Most recently, he served as the co-chief human resources officer and SVP for Global Talent Solutions.

06:12 EDT CF Corporation to acquire Fidelity & Guaranty Life in deal valued at $1.84B

06:09 EDT Lowe's CEO says Q1 SSS was 'well above company average' - "A solid macroeconomic backdrop, combined with our project expertise, drove above average performance in indoor projects. We also continued to advance our sales to Pro customers, delivering another quarter of comparable sales growth well above the company average," commented Robert Niblock, Lowe's chairman, president and CEO.

06:00 EDT Triumph Group reaches comprehensive settlement with Bombardier - Triumph Group (TGI) announced that Bombardier (BDRBF) and Triumph Aerostructures, or TAS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Triumph, have entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement that resolves all outstanding commercial disputes between them, including all pending litigation, related to the design, manufacture and supply of wing components for Bombardier's Global 7000 business aircraft. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. The settlement resets the commercial relationship between TAS and Bombardier and allows each of them to better achieve their business objectives going forward.

05:33 EDT Elbit Systems awarded $25M contract by International organization - Elbit Systems announced that it was awarded a $25M contract for the supply of J-Music Direct Infrared Countermeasures, or DIRCM, self-protection systems to an International organization. The contract will be performed over a three-year period.

05:15 EDT Ecopetrol receives NYSE notice regarding non-filing of annual report - Ecopetrol S.A. announced that it received a notification letter from the New York Stock Exchange on May 17, stating that as the company had not filed in due time its Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 with the SEC, it was not in compliance with the listing criteria of the NYSE. As a result, the procedures set forth in Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual will be applicable. On May 17, company issued a press release and filed a Form 6-K before the SEC, detailing that, as part of the company's due diligence, the Audit Committee of the board has retained a U.S.-based outside law firm to commence a third-party investigation into the matters set forth in the announcement made by the Prosecutor's Office on April 27. In light of this announcement, the company's auditor for 2014-2015 has said it is not ready to consent to the use of its opinion in connection with the filing of the Form 20-F, and accordingly will continue to monitor the progress of the third-party investigation. The company's management is committed to file its annual report on Form 20-F and be again in compliance with applicable listing rules as soon as possible.